Rabbi Moses Isserles (Rema)
Portrait byMeir Kunstadt [nl], early 1900s
Personal life
Born	22 February 1530 Kraków,Kingdom of Poland
Died	10 May 1572(1572-05-10) (aged 42) Kraków,Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Nationality	Polish
Parents	Israel ben Josef (father) Malka (mother)
Occupation	Rabbi, Talmudist, andPosek
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Buried	Kraków,Poland

Moses Isserles (Hebrew:משה בן ישראל איסרלישׂ;Polish:Mojżesz ben Israel Isserles; 22 February 1530 / 25Adar I 5290 – 11 May 1572 / 18Iyar 5332),^[1] also known by theacronymRema, was an eminentPolishAshkenazirabbi,talmudist, andposek (expert in Jewish law). He is considered the "Maimonides of Polish Jewry."^[2]

Isserles was born inKraków,Poland. His father,Israel ben Josef (known as Isserl), was a prominenttalmudist and independently wealthy,^[3] who had probably headed the community; his grandfather, Jehiel Luria, was the first rabbi ofBrisk. (In an era which preceded the common use ofsurnames, Moses became known by hispatronymic, Isserles.)

At first he studied at home, and then inLublin under RabbiShalom Shachna,^[4] who would later become his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relativeSolomon Luria (Maharshal)—later a major disputant of many of Isserles'halachic rulings,^[5] and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of theMaharal. His first wife died young, at the age of 20 and he later established the "Rema Synagogue" in Kraków in her memory (originally his house, built by his father in his honor—which he gave to the community). He later married the sister ofJoseph ben Mordechai Gershon Ha-Kohen.

He returned to Kraków in 1549,^[4] establishing a largeyeshiva where as a wealthy man, he supported his pupils. In his teaching, he was opposed topilpul and emphasized simple interpretation of theTalmud. In 1553 he was appointed asdayan; he also served on theCouncil of the Four Lands. He was approached by many other well-known rabbis, includingYosef Karo, for Halachic decisions. He was one of the greatest Jewish scholars ofPoland, and was the primaryhalakhic authority forEuropean Jewry of his day. He died in Kraków and was buried next to his synagogue. On his tombstone is inscribed: "From Moses (Maimonides) to Moses (Isserles) there was none likeMoses". Until theSecond World War, thousands of pilgrims visited his grave annually onLag Ba'omer, hisYahrzeit (date of death).

Not only was Isserles a renowned Talmudic andlegal scholar, but he was also learned inKabbalah and studiedhistory,astronomy, andphilosophy. Many had criticizedMaimonides' heavy use of philosophy, and these criticisms continued into Isserles' day. He, on the other hand, took a moderate approach despite being concerned with philosophy entering into education. He stated that philosophy should be learned only "sporadically", and that religious scripture should always be held in a higher esteem.^[6] Around 1550, he had several correspondences with RabbiSolomon Luria. Isserles represented the pro-philosophy aspect of study, while Luria was more critical.^[7]

Isserles taught that "the aim of man is to search for the cause and the meaning of things."^[8] He also held that "it is permissible to now and then study secular wisdom, provided that this excludes works of heresy... and that one [first] knows what is permissible and forbidden, and therules and themitzvot".^[9]Maharshal reproached him for having based some of his decisions onAristotle. His reply was that he studiedGreek philosophy only from Maimonides'Guide for the Perplexed, and then only onShabbat andYom Tov - and furthermore, it is better to occupy oneself with philosophy than to err throughKabbalah.^[10]

Despite his suggestions about learning philosophy sparingly, Isserles and his students are considered the "first wave" of philosophical learning within Polish Jewry and is deemed the "Isserles School" by Leonard S. Levin.^[11]

Isserles had several children: "Drezil (named after his maternal grandmother), wife of R. Bunem Meisels. A daughter whose name is unknown to us.... A son, R. Yehuda.... A third daughter... who is totally unknown to us."^[12] He is buried in the eponymousRemuh Cemetery in Kraków.

A reputed descendant ofKing David throughRashi,^[13] he has many notable descendants, among which are included members of theMeisel family, alongside Rabbi Yakov Kuli Slonim, son-in-law of the Mittler Rebbe, the composersFelix Mendelssohn andGiacomo Meyerbeer, the pianistJulius Isserlis, the cellistSteven Isserlis, the author Inbali Iserles, the mathematicianArieh Iserles and the statisticianLeon Isserlis.

Isserles is perhaps best known for his halakhic works, chief among them his notes to theShulchan Aruch byYosef Karo. He is noted for his approach to customs (minhagim): "it should be remembered that R. Isserles did not regard the JewishMinhag lightly. On the contrary, he too expressed reverence and respect for it, and whenever possible endeavored to uphold it and also to explain its origin. Only, unlike many great Talmudic scholars, he refused to follow it blindly. When convinced of the unsound basis of a Minhag, he was ready to repudiate it regardless of its acceptance by the people."^[14]

Furthermore: "The Talmud is, of course, the great reservoir to which R. Isserles turns as the first step in attempting to solve a problem. The question at hand is immediately referred to an identical or similar case in the Talmud. The second step is the weighing of the opinions of the ראשונים, i.e.Alfasi (רי”ף),Tosafists,Nachmanides, etc. expanding and explaining the text. The opinion of the majority is followed by R. Isserles and even Maimonides, whom he respected very highly, is disregarded if he was in the minority. After the Rishonim, R. Isserles proceeds to examine writings of אחרונים, i.e.Mordechai,Ashri andTur, and the latter is followed especially when the Tosafists agree with him. At this point, the Responsa of still later authorities are cited extensively in accordance with the well-established principle of הלכה כבתרא, paying due attention even to the opinions of contemporaries and to customs of Polish Jewry which the ב”י omitted. Thus, Isserles, in his responsa as well as in the ד”מ and his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, served as a supplement and offered his community the code of Law adjusted to its authorities, customs, and needs. He spread the “cloth” over the table prepared by his contemporary, the ב”י."^[15]

Isserles, likeYosef Karo in theShulchan Aruch, often quotes Kabbalistic sources and opinions in his various works, and writes of his great joy upon finding that his ruling concurred with what he later found written in the "words of theZohar which were given atSinai...".^[5]

Writing to a friend who had become a rabbi in Germany, Isserles expressed his preference for living in Poland over Germany: "You would be better off living with us in Poland on stale bread if need be, but safe".^[16][17]

Isserles is renowned for his fundamental work ofHalakha (Jewish law), entitledha-Mapah (lit., "the tablecloth"), an inline commentary on theShulchan Aruch (lit. "the set table"), upon which his "great reputation as a halakist and codifier rests chiefly."^[18]

Darkhei Moshe (דרכי משה) is a commentary on theTur as well as on theBeth Yosef, which is Yosef Karo's commentary on theTur and the work underlying theShulkhan Aruch. Isserles had originally intended theDarkhei Moshe to serve as a basis for subsequenthalakhic decisions. As such, in this work he evaluates the rulings of theTur—which was widely accepted among theAshkenazim andSephardim—comparing these with rulings of otherhalakhic authorities. TheBeth Yosef was published while Isserles was at work on theDarkhei Moshe. Recognizing that Karo's commentary largely met his objectives, Isserles published theDarkhei Moshe in a modified form. "In publishing the דרכי משה, R. Isserles rendered a great service to Ashkenazic Jewry, for he reestablished its Talmudic authorities as the deciding factor in determining a law."^[19] An abridgement of the original work is published with theTur; the complete version of theDarkhei Moshe is published separately.

HaMapah (המפה) is written as agloss to theShulchan Aruch ofYosef Karo, discussing cases whereSephardi andAshkenazi customs differ. Hamapah is the "tablecloth" for theShulkhan Aruch, the "set table". Karo had based hisnormative positions on three authorities:Maimonides,Asher ben Jehiel (the Rosh), andIsaac Alfasi (the Rif). Of these, only Asher ben Jehiel had non-Sephardic roots, having lived most of his life inGermany before moving toSpain, but even so, his work is largely Sephardic in orientation. Isserles thus created a series of glosses, in which he supplemented Karo with material drawn from the laws and customs (Minhagim) ofAshkenazi Jewry, chiefly based on the works ofYaakov Moelin,Israel Isserlein andIsrael Bruna.

All editions of theShulchan Aruch since 1578 includeHaMapah embedded in the text (introduced by the word: הגהHagahah, meaning "gloss"), and distinguished by a semi-cursive "Rashi script". Isserles' HaMapah was "considered to be an interpretation and supplement to Karo's work, while also challenging its claim to universal authority by introducing Ashkenazic traditions and customs that differed from the Sephardic ones. Rather than challenge the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh, however, Isserles established the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh as the authoritative text. In most of the editions since 1574, the Shulhan ‘Arukh was printed with HaMapah, thus creating an interesting tension that was realized on the printed page. It was an act of integrating the Sephardic tradition and its accommodation into the Ashkenazi world, the confirmation of the authority and its undermining appearing on the same page."^[20]

The citations "indicating the sources in earlier authorities of the decisions in the annotations to the Shulchan Aruch, were not placed by Isserles. This may be seen from the fact that many times incorrect references are given. An anonymous scholar placed them at the end of each comment and gradually they have been mistaken as being indications of the author himself."^[21]

Isserles' weaving "his comments into the main text as glosses, indicates, besides upholding the traditional Ashkenazi attitude to a text, that the work itself, meant to serve as a textbook for laymen, had been accepted in Rema's yeshivah at Krakow as a students' reference book. Instead of the Arba‘ah Turim, the main text for the study of posekim in the Ashkenazi yeshivah up to Rema's day, he chose to use the new book, which was free of accumulated layers of glosses and emendations, up-to-date and lucid, and arranged along the same lines as the old Turim so that it could easily be introduced into the yeshivah curriculum. This was the crucial step in altering the canonical status of the Shulhan Arukh."^[22]

Today, the term "Shulchan Aruch" refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles. This consolidation of the two works strengthened the underlying unity of theSephardi andAshkenazi communities. It is through this unification that theShulkhan Aruch became the universally acceptedCode of Law for the entireJewish people, with the notable exception ofYemenite Jews who still follow theRambam (Maimonides).

Torat Ha-Olah (תורת העלה), written between 1560 and 1570, was a discussion of the deeper meaning of theTemple in Jerusalem and the temple sacrifices. In addition to discussing the principles of the Jewish faith invoked, Isserles connects the Torah laws and symbols to philosophy, physics, astronomy, andKabbalah.^[23][24] The title translates into the "Law of the Burnt-Offering." In addition to citing theTanakh and Talmud, Isserles heavily references theMidrash.

• Shulchan Aruch Archives - Orach Chayim, Torah.org
• Shulchan Aruch Archives - Yoreh De'ah, Torah.org
• Torath ha-Olah fulltext (PDF,Hebrew)

Isserles also wrote:

• Torath ha-Chatath, alegal guidebook focusing primarily onJewish dietary laws
• Torath ha-Olah, an in-depth philosophical explanation of the significance of theTemple in Jerusalem and of itsrites
• Mechir Yayin, a commentary on theBook of Esther
• Teshuvot Rema, a collection ofresponsa – seeHistory of Responsa: Sixteenth century
• Aderes Eliyahu, a commentary on zohar, of which remains only on Bereshis, published by his student Eliyahu of Loanz

• Goldin, Hyman E. (1961).Kitzur Shulchan Aruch - Code of Jewish Law. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company.
• Goldwurm, Hersh (1989).The Early Acharonim. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications.ISBN 0-89906-488-4.
• Elon, Menachem (1973).HaMishpat Ha'Ivri (in Hebrew). Jerusalem:Magnes.
• Elon, Menachem (1994).Jewish Law : History, Sources, Principles. Philadelphia:Jewish Publication Society.ISBN 0-8276-0389-4.
• Shulman, Yaacov Dovid (1991).The Rema: The Story of Rabbi Moshe Isserles. CIS Publishers.ISBN 978-1-56062-090-7.
• Mishor (2010).Toras Hachatas. New York: Mishor.
• Lew, Myer S. (1944).The Jews of Poland: Their Economic, Social and Communal Life in the Sixteenth Century as reflected in the Works of Rabbi Moses Isserls. London: Edward Goldston.
• Raz-Krozkin, Amnon (2006). Chanita Goodblatt; Howard Kreisel (eds.).Tradition, Heterodoxy and Religious Culture: Judaism and Christianity in the Early Modern Period. Be'er Sheva: Ben Gurion University of the Negev Press.
• Reiner, Elchanan (1997). "The Ashkenazi Élite at the Beginning of the Modern Era: Manuscript versus Printed Book".Polin.10.
• Siev, Asher (1943).The Period, Life and Work of Rabbi Moses Isserles. New York: Yeshiva University, PhD. Dissertation.

Wikiquote has quotations related toMoses Isserles.

• Isserles, Moses Ben Israel (ReMA), jewishencyclopedia.com
• Rabbi Moses ben Israel Isserles, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
• The Virtual Jewish History Tour: Lublin, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
• 18 Iyar - Reb Moshe Isserles, the ReMA, yarzheit.com
• Moshe Isserles (REMA), The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot
• Darkhei Moshe, Prof. Eliezer Segal
• "Tablecloth", Prof. Eliezer Segal
• The Remo (5280 - 5332), chabad.org
• Rema Synagogue

• 1530 births
• 1572 deaths
• 16th-century Polish rabbis
• Rabbis from Kraków
• Polish Orthodox rabbis
• Authors of books on Jewish law
• Ashkenazi rabbis
• Exponents of Jewish law

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